Dalai Lama donates $1.7 million prize to charity

The Dalai Lama received the 2012 Templeton Prize for his work linking science and wider questions of faith and religion.

The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader was awarded the prize, which comes with $1.7 million, Monday at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

About $1.4 million will go to Save the Children in India, with about $200,000 set aside for The Minds and Life Institute, a non-profit that researches the partnership between modern science and Buddhism.

"We are honored to accept this generous humanitarian gift, which will be used to save the lives of some of the world's most vulnerable children," Save the Children's chief executive Justin Forsyth said in a statement.

According to Forsyth, the funds will be used for programs tackling malnutrition in India.

"This donation will be used practically, to help many more children survive, grow and, as the Dalai Lama said, realize their full potential," Forsyth said.